[Signless had missed the news report this morning. He was up early, putting up a few more decorations for 12th Perigees or "Christmas" as the humans called it. Just because those he cared about didn't remember him didn't mean he couldn't try to make it special for them.
Later he'd go see Di and Lulu, wish them a happy 12th Perigees even though he knows they'd just stare at him blankly and wonder how he knows a troll holiday then go check up on the young trolls-
Oh, the door. He quickly finishes pinning the sprig of plant Fate had called "mistletoe" to the top of the doorway to the kitchen, hops off the chair and hurries to the door.]
[He's still not sure which hurts more: her forgetting he exists all together or believing he's fake.]
So you remember again...That's good, I think. [He smiles a little though there's no joy in it.] Is there nothing I can do to convince you I'm real? Any story I can tell of our travels, any secret between us I can admit?
You'd just make it harder...I know you're not him--everyone knows the erased people are fakes. You're the reason I f-forgot him. [She shifts to wipe her eyes, taking the knife out, but holding it to her chest] And you have to go away.
[He's been threatened before. Hell, he's lived with the threat of death hanging over his head for as long as he can remember. But having it come from the woman he loves is something he never expected.]
Our first 12th Perigees together I made you a cloak. It was awful; the hood was too big, the holes for your horns were off and it was the wrong shade of green...but you loved it. You wore it until that high blood set it on fire.
[Her hands shook as he spoke, but her lips turned up at the edges. Smiling despite herself. Of course she remembered the cloak.]
See, you got all wrong. It was perfect. The flaws made it beautiful. It was the best I could ask for because it came from the one I loved. I'll never get another like it and you'd--he'd make something perfect now.
[The hand holding the knife goes limp at her side, the handle barely dangling from her fingertips]
Is it so wrong to want him back? I already lost him once...
I loved everything you gave me...He gave me I mean--
[The knife clatters to the ground and Disciple shut her eyes tight. She didn't know what to believe anymore. He felt all wrong. But he knew her name, the one she'd discarded sweeps ago]
[He can't do this anymore. He can't just stand here and watch her wrestle with herself like this. He's hugging her in an instant, pressing his nose into her hair and he is not letting go.]
Shoosh...I know. It's a name I have and always will keep close. Could a fake Signless know that?
[Disciple doesn't cling to him like she did the first time they were reunited. She doesn't hold him tenderly and easily as she would have before his death. She just brings her hands up, places them on his back and lets the tears run down her face]
No one could but Signless could know...But. You don't feel right...I-I guess it might be this place, tricking me, because how could they replicate you so exactly. But you still sound...feel. It's off and what if you aren't really him and it's just a lie. What if I've just been dreaming...I dreamt of you a lot after you died. [She rambles on, trying to keep the air full of noise so she can't concentrate on how right/wrong it feels to be held by him] W-When you never existed, when I forgot you, it was horrible. I never had any meaning to my life, you know, I never fell in love, neverwroteanything--[She catches her breath] But you still don't...I'm sorry but I can't.
Later he'd go see Di and Lulu, wish them a happy 12th Perigees even though he knows they'd just stare at him blankly and wonder how he knows a troll holiday then go check up on the young trolls-
Oh, the door. He quickly finishes pinning the sprig of plant Fate had called "mistletoe" to the top of the doorway to the kitchen, hops off the chair and hurries to the door.]
Yes- Di?
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But--oh. It...was a lot harder in person. The silence after her name dragged on. She couldn't summon the strength to pull the knife out.
He'd bleed the same color--]
You're the fake Signless. Taking his place. I can't get him back until you're gone.
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So you remember again...That's good, I think. [He smiles a little though there's no joy in it.] Is there nothing I can do to convince you I'm real? Any story I can tell of our travels, any secret between us I can admit?
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Our first 12th Perigees together I made you a cloak. It was awful; the hood was too big, the holes for your horns were off and it was the wrong shade of green...but you loved it. You wore it until that high blood set it on fire.
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See, you got all wrong. It was perfect. The flaws made it beautiful. It was the best I could ask for because it came from the one I loved. I'll never get another like it and you'd--he'd make something perfect now.
[The hand holding the knife goes limp at her side, the handle barely dangling from her fingertips]
Is it so wrong to want him back? I already lost him once...
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[He starts to reach out to her but stops short. He doesn't want to upset her any more than she already is.]
You haven't lost me now and I'm going to make sure you don't again. I promise you. [He lowers his voice, his tone soft and warm.]
I love you, Bastet.
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[The knife clatters to the ground and Disciple shut her eyes tight. She didn't know what to believe anymore. He felt all wrong. But he knew her name, the one she'd discarded sweeps ago]
No one calls me that anymore. Not even you.
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Shoosh...I know. It's a name I have and always will keep close. Could a fake Signless know that?
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No one could but Signless could know...But. You don't feel right...I-I guess it might be this place, tricking me, because how could they replicate you so exactly. But you still sound...feel. It's off and what if you aren't really him and it's just a lie. What if I've just been dreaming...I dreamt of you a lot after you died. [She rambles on, trying to keep the air full of noise so she can't concentrate on how right/wrong it feels to be held by him] W-When you never existed, when I forgot you, it was horrible. I never had any meaning to my life, you know, I never fell in love, neverwroteanything--[She catches her breath] But you still don't...I'm sorry but I can't.
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